Tuesday, April 3, 2012

bareMinerals READY: Swatches & Review

So bareMinerals' new pressed collection, aptly named READY has finally landed! I've been a fan of bareMinerals for a long time now, but I always tend to avoid their colour products as I honestly can't be bothered with lose pigments for my eyes and cheeks when it comes to everyday makeup. They've used what they call 'solid mineral technology', utilising sea minerals with rejuvenating, anti-ageing properties to retain their emphasis on mineral makeup that is good for your skin.

The line consists of 22 shades of eyeshadow duos, four quads, ten blushes, three bronzers and two shades of their famous mineral veil.bareMinerals kindly sent me a few of these new compacts to show you all, and I have to say I'm really impressed!

The packaging is gorgeous, the rounded-off square compacts have a matte-rubberised effect and feel good quality. As they have a similar finish to NARS products, I'm sure they will be equally as difficult to keep clean. I'm not a fan of the miniature brushes and sponge applicators that are included, I'd rather have more product personally.

The eyeshadows are smooth, creamy and beautifully pigmented. They blend nicely and last all day if you use them with a base. The above palette is 'The Soundtrack', the below duo 'The Grand Finale'.

The blush I tried, 'The Faux Pas', wasn't as heavily pigmented as I'd hoped but the colour is gorgeous none the less. The names of the collection are also surprisingly risque... It's not just the packaging that's similar to NARS then!

Overall, I'm really impressed with this line. The prices are a little on the high side, starting at £19 for the duos and £29 for the quads but I think they're fair considering the single loose eyeshadows retail for £11. The single blushes are a little less than the pressed at £19 compared to £22 but i think the packaging makes up for that.

What do you guys think of the new bareMinerals line? Anything catch your eye? Personally I'm excited to try the pressed mineral viel, as that's my favourite product from bareminerals.

**For some reason, bareMinerals have decided to release only 15 of the 22 duos, 2 of the 4 quads (but all of the blushes) onto bareminerals.co.uk, freestanding bM boutiques and Selfridges until 1st May, when the full line will be released in all bM retailers (check out their website for the exact shades - too confusing for a blog post!)